


Lovely Lanareo Regional Airport

by ThatFeelyFeel



Category: Project Wingman (Video Game)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, Explicit Language, Fighter Pilots, Gen, Queer Character, Trans Female Character, Work In Progress
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-03
Updated: 2021-03-15
Packaged: 2021-03-15 19:02:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,091
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29812989
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThatFeelyFeel/pseuds/ThatFeelyFeel
Summary: In the early stages of the Cascadian Conflict, a backwater CIF airfield houses a lone squadron lead by a former Federation ace. Reina Crane, hotheaded Academy dropout, has recently joined Seraph squadron and desperately wants to get her chance in the skies to battle the Federation(This is my first attempt at writing so please hit me up with some constructive criticism)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 10





	1. Lonely Lanero

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first thing I've written so please be gentle. Thanks to all the wonderful people on the Project Wingman Discord for being supportive and helpful.  
> Reina is trans but it won't come up (probably).

“Lieutenant Crane, could I have a word with you?”  
“Yeah sure, what’s up ‘Cap?” Reina absentmindedly replied, preoccupied with the maintenance of her SK-25. Some engineers found it mothballed and tried to fix the Flanker; they didn’t do a completely awful job on it, at least it was mostly functional. Their handiwork was giving her trouble with the fuel intake.  
“Privately.” Captain Valeria Mui curtly added.  
Reina blinked then shook her head as she realized her new squadron leader wasn’t going to talk about aircraft maintenance. She paused her work, wiped off her hands, and waved to the crew chief. The walk to Captain Valeria's office was short, but awkward. This wasn’t the first time Reina has caused some friction with a superior, though it happened more often in the academy than in their small independence force base.

“Take a seat, please,” Reina slowly sat down and tried not to appear too comfortable. Captain Valeria picks up a stack of papers as she sits behind her desk. Reina let her eyes wander around the office, surprised with how organized everything is despite it being in an old motel, as she waits for the lecture to begin. 

“Lieutenant, this is the third time this week you’ve failed to follow landing procedure,” Captain Mui paused, but when Reina didn’t respond, she continued, “Air traffic control has informed me you haven’t responded to their requests so they’ve brought it up with me.”  
“Oh, this is about buzzing the tower, isn’t it?”  
Valeria sighed, “Yes, partially,” her eyes scanned over the papers in front of her, “buzzing the tower, as you put it, is not the only issue that has been brought to my attention,” Reina rolled her eyes, “you have also have been rushing through patrols and flying recklessly while on them. You need to understand that you’re no longer a member of a small militia, but a part of the CIF as a whole.”  
Reina zoned out as she waited for the captain to finish up. She’s been on the receiving end of this song and dance enough times to know not to fight back, just let the stiff talk and talk then ask for her agreement. After five years in the academy, it’s practically become routine for her. 

“Lieutenant Crane, are you listening to me?” the question snapped Reina back into focus. 

“Yes ma’am, of course,” an easy lie. 

“Look,” she pinched her nose, “you _are_ talented, but you’re inexperienced. I’ve seen what that combination leads to,” her hand gripped the arm rest as she broke eye contact for just a moment, “if you are going to fly in this squadron, you need to learn restraint.”

A sense of deja vu came over Reina, caused by the captain’s accent and being sure she heard nearly the same thing just under a year ago from a stuffy instructor who had tried to kick her out a month later. She recalls hearing him yammer on about how she doesn’t _deserve the honor of flying for the Federation_ , not like she was planning to anyway. All these Feddies were the same, from the MPs who got on her ass in her hometown to the former Federation ace talking down to her now--even though Reina had six inches on her.

Captain Mui looked like she was expecting an answer, so Reina played along, “I understand.”

“There is something on your mind you are not telling me,” Reina must have gotten rusty for Mui to see through that easily, “what is it?”

She decided to test the waters, “We’re so far from the front that the biggest news is a new tanker of fuel being delivered. How am I supposed to get experience when all we’re doing is running patrols?” 

“I understand that what we are doing is not as _glorious_ as you may hope, but it is necessary for the war effort. Regardless, you need more flight time,” Captain Valeria Mui’s voice was sickeningly measured, practiced, _restrained_. 

“While we’re sitting out in the middle of nowhere with our thumbs up our asses people are dying,” irritation seeped into her tone, “I can fly circles around those Fed di-”

“You should not be so quick to throw yourself into the throngs of combat nor should you underestimate the Federation,” Mui’s eyes narrowed and her tone now grave, “they will bring the war here sooner than you realize.”

They sit there in the silence for a minute, Reina stunned and Valeria taking the time to steady herself. 

When Captain Mui starts again, she returns to the practiced voice of a woman trying to be gentle, “Crane, we are not going to win this war with martyrs seeking a noble death in the line of fire. You will get your chance, I am sure of that. I just ask you to be patient, understood?”

Reina blinked twice, “Understood,” maybe this Fed will be more than just an empty suit with delusions of nationalistic duty. 

Reina collected herself after she was dismissed and made her way through the door when her Captain called out behind her, “Oh I almost forgot, I also need you to stop smoking in the hangar. We cannot afford any avoidable mistakes like a fire from a loose cigarette.”

Reina hung her head and let out a dry chuckle, “Wilco, ‘Cap.”

  
  


The cool damp air combined well with the sensation of nicotine entering her system. Reina had trouble making any progress with the Flanker, her mind trying to piece together Captain Valeria. “Defect” was clearly forcing herself to stick with a detached and practiced mask. Anyone could see that and Reina knew a day after they had met, but she didn’t expect to see that mask crack and certainly not like this. She wasn’t sure who the older woman was truly, but she was now quite sure Valeria Mui was a good fit for squadron leader. None of the bootlickers back at the academy had the fire Defect was carrying. Even given that, Federation programming is tough to break. Hell, even Reina had times she doubted herself during sleepless nights and she went into the academy planning to find her way back home to Cascadia. It was hard to imagine what was going through the mind of a turncoat ace of the Federation, especially in this backwater airstrip: Lanareo Regional Airport, current home of the _esteemed_ Seraph squadron. A slight smile tugs at her lips. Fitting that there isn’t much to see from her new smoking spot, but the fresh air was nice. Reina exhales and watches the smoke and her breath as they dissipate. 

A voice from beside her brings her back to the present, “So this is where you’ve been hiding.”

Reina’s eyes tracked the voice to Denmother, Seraph’s AWACS. The Magadanian woman is more slight than her voice would imply. Reina smirks, “Just taking a step away from things for a minute.”

Denmother cringed, “Defect get on your ass that bad?”

A shoulder shrug followed by a huff, “Please, Yulianna, you’re underestimating me or overestimating her,” Reina took a small drag of the shrinking cigarette, “just needed a break from working on the fucking plane is all,” not a lie--but not the truth either.

“I’m sure there is no other reason you were zoned out for a full minute before you noticed me. Miss Crane, I do believe our friend from the Federation has gotten to you,” Reina glared down at Denmother, who has a smug grin plastered on her face

“This isn’t the same as the Academy, I don’t exactly have an exit plan here,” she lazily swept her hand out, “may as well not make this shit worse.”

Denmother hums noncommittally in response. Yulianna Kalinin has known the Cascadian sulking before her for a couple years now and has yet to see her act quite like this. You learn a lot about someone when you help them get out of a military academy and then live with them while getting in contact with a militia cell. Yuilanna’s eyes drifted over her companion’s tattoo-covered left arm which showcased emblems, locations, and names that tell a story Yulianna has yet to comprehend, “a bit cold to be out here without a jacket, yeah?”

Reina nodded, dropped her finished cigarette to the ground, then ground the heel of her boot into it, “yeah, yeah _mom_ , I need to eat some goddamn food anyways.” 

Yulianna just rolled her eyes and followed the orchid haired rebel back inside, “so how did Defect get you to follow protocol for the cigs but not for hair and uniform?”

The taller of the two women scoffed, “the CIF isn’t going to throw a perfectly capable pilot away because of dyed hair and shit. The smoking thing is no big deal; at least that makes some amount of sense.” 

“That’s big talk for someone who got kicked out of the Academy,” Denmother sardonically added, which gets her an eye roll from Reina.

“They didn’t fire me, I quit,” Reina jokingly added. She wasn’t wrong, she dropped out before they had the chance to expel her. 

It was a short walk from Reina’s smoking spot outside the hangar to their modest mess hall, which was a repurposed break area for the airport. The motel had some communal tables too, but not nearly as much space or actual cooking equipment. It wasn’t cramped, calling it comfy wouldn’t be a stretch, but certainly couldn’t fit everyone at the base at once. As Vagrant and Denmother arrived, they saw the other pilots of Seraph in the middle of dinner. Brown and Rook, Seraph 2 and 3 respectively, were eating in relative silence before the other two joined them. Rook gave them a shallow nod and a half smile. Brown pauses eating, “Good evening Denmother,” he makes direct eye contact with Reina after she sits down, “Vagrant.”

“Nice to see you too, yuppie” Vagrant replied sarcastically. Samuel Bryant’s parents had been successful lawyers who had moved to Cascadia when he was a child. “I still don’t know why my model upperclassman is so unhappy to see me.”

Brown scoffed, “I had hoped the day you dropped out was the last time I would have to deal with your cigarette smell.” 

Rook mumbled to her, “It’s not that bad.”

“See? You should follow Tagri’s example and actually give me a chance,” Vagrant said as she gestured lazily to the woman peacefully eating her meal. The soft spoken pilot had never treated the newcomer like a part of the team from day one. They shared a silent respect for each other. 

“Why do you even smoke those things anyway?” Denmother asked with genuine curiosity. 

“Bad habit I picked up from when I was still a teen, thought it was cool,” she shrugged. It was easy for kids in mining towns to get into trouble when anyone of age worked all day for poverty wages. 

Brown arched an eyebrow, “And you haven’t quit yet because?” 

“Once I had planned to leave the Academy, figured I was more likely to go down fighting,” she punctuated the statement with a bite of her MRE’s cookie. Lieutenant Bryant was stunned into silence as Reina kept chewing on her dessert.

“Well that’s a bit of a downer, isn’t it?” Denmother shook her head

“Y’know, I think you’re a good enough pilot you could actually make it through this,” Rook softly assured Vagrant, who smirked in return. Reina didn't have a death wish, there was just too much at stake in Cascadia now. She wasn’t sure what she’d do next week let alone after the war, but Reina knew she wasn't running. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang shoots at feddies and meets new friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took a lot longer than I intended to finish because I had some stuff going on with family. I should hopefully update a bit faster in the future(maybe)  
> This was my attempt at combat. I hope it wasn't shit lmao.  
> Also I had Denmother use some Russian words here and there but I can't speak Russian so if I fucked up, let me know.  
> Thanks c:

“All right, Seraph 1 you’re right at the edge of our range. Adjust course and begin your sweep of the perimeter,” the young voice of the ATC was clear in Captain Valeria Mui’s headset. She brought her F-15 into a smooth turn with practiced hands. Mui had maintained countless CAP lines, but in faraway skies in fights over oil. This time in a fight over cordium, but now from their other predictive. The light snow storm starting to roll from the north hindered their already kneecapped communications. Due to the jamming from the Federation’s installation in Solana has shut down any long range communications, she’d organized patrols skirting along the edge of the airbase’s communication range. After retiring, Valeria hadn’t expected to be flying a patrol ever again. Even during her time stationed at Samaria AFB, going out on patrol alone was not necessary due to countless aircraft and pilots eager to prove themselves. The view from the cockpit of an F-15 has been a regular sight in her dreams since that sortie over Okarus. Valeria didn’t wish to be a combat pilot again, but the CIF — even though they lacked discipline — offered her a chance to set things right.

“This is-” static cuts in through Defect's radio, “-ny CIF out there wh-” 

“Lanareo, where is this coming from?” her grip on the stick tightened.

“We’re working on it, Seraph 1,” she turned her F15 around, hoping to keep in range of the first contact they've had from anyone in days.

"-ust lost our win-" less static, whoever it is must be south then, "-nly ones still in-"

What good is a QRF squadron that can’t even get in contact with those who need it most? The little news that has made its way to Lanareo hasn’t painted a hopeful picture for those on the front, "Tell me you have something." 

The air traffic control sighed, “It’s an open channel a few klicks south of your current location, no idea who or what it is.”

 _There is the possibility of it being a trap to draw in any nearby —_ She shook her head, “Get Seraph and Denmother in the air; we don’t know how much we are up against, but some of our people need assistance.”

"Copy that, stay in our comms range until Seraph 2 joins up with you. The two of you will head to assist while the rest back you up.”

“Negative, I am heading to assist now. Send the rest as soon they are as able,” Defect eyed her instruments; she had only just begun her patrol so she had more than enough fuel.

“Do you have a death wish?” 

“They do not have the time.” 

The ATC grumbled out, “Very well, Captain. It’s your funeral.”

Captain Valeria Mui took a steadying breath, “Defect, heading out.”

* * *

  
  


As the alarm blared in the hangar of Lanareo Airforce Base, Reina struggled to keep her smirk under control. It was no secret that she was fiending for a fight; Reina had gotten some side eye glances from the ground crew as she approached her fighter. She was unashamedly herself; people made all kinds of assumptions. She would let her flying show them who Reina, _Vagrant_ , truly was — at least she hoped.

“Alright Seraph 3, you’re cleared for takeoff,” the ATC going through the motions as if Seraph was going for a scheduled patrol as Rook silently made her way to join Brown; by the time they linked up, Reina was settled in the cockpit of her Flanker.

“You’re shockingly quiet over there, Vagrant. Are you actually nervous, _nugget?”_

Vagrant was far too proud to admit that her first combat sortie was causing some anxiety at the back of her mind that grew as the possibility of meeting the enemy grew. Part of her worried that Seraph would meet their doom at the hands of some Peacekeepers. The rest wanted to finally make a dent in the Federation’s war machine, a moment that seemed to be eternally out of reach. Reina had gotten into scrapes with random Feddies in her hometown and the Academy; drunken, self-assured kids from the Federation core living off of their parents' trust fund thought a Cascadian orphan was an easy target. She had no qualms about putting the bastards down, but that would never challenge the Federation’s grip on the people of her home. Knocking an uptight prick on their ass was satisfying, but it’s a long shot from a dogfight and Vagrant had seen none, “I’m trying to focus, alright?” 

As Vangrant’s flanker began to taxi, Denmother chirped back over the radio,“Sure you are my friend, just get up here before Defect steals all your glory.” 

Glory was nothing compared to the satisfaction of finally giving the Federation something worse than the middle finger, “You should thank the Dust Mother for giving me the patience to put up with you.”

Denmother gave her a hearty laugh, “I’ll be sure to thank her for your temper as well.”

Reina rolled her eyes and increased the throttle. The refurbished SK-27 took off without a hitch. The flanker was performing more in line with what Reina had wanted from her machine. Not perfect, but hell of a lot better than last week. Nothing beat the satisfaction of bringing out the potential of a machine. The fighter was a feat of engineering, one that she had only begun to truly understand. A chance to put her work to the test against whatever was waiting for them.

Reina had only gotten the bare minimum as she rushed to her plane, but as her Flanker quickly grouped up with the rest she hoped to finally get some details, “So, is our glorious leader flying blind into a combat zone _alone_ normal?” 

Rook was the first to chime in, “...she can take care of herself.”

“You’ll learn to trust Captain Mui’s judgement with time, Vagrant,” Brown’s pompous voice cracked through the comms.

“None of you are worried?” Reina didn’t mind the mood, she was more surprised than anything. 

“You’ll understand soon enough,” Brown smugly added. His calm demeanor surprised Reina more than the rest. She’d been prepared to listen to a rant about protocol and combat doctrines.

“She’s an ace for a reason,” Rook muttered. 

Reina wasn’t satisfied. She still had some doubts that Defect could still be alive. Reina heard some stories, moreso rumors, about Captain Mui, but nothing concrete. All she knew was that Mui had made herself an ace flying in the periphery then retired to Cascadia. The woman was a stick in the mud, but she had a presence unlike anyone else Reina had met from the Federation. Reina felt that the expat actually understood the weight of her authority and it was clear the respect she’d earned from the other two pilots. Reina didn’t doubt Captain Mui was good, you don’t become an ace through luck alone, but there is no such thing as an unbeatable pilot.

The sound of crunching broke Reina out of her thoughts, “What the hell is that noise?”

A brief moment of silence, “...the alarms went off just as I sat down to eat so I brought a snack,” the sentence was punctuated with another crunch. 

Reina couldn’t help but chuckle, “Never change, Rook.”

“Hate to ruin the moment Seraph, but I’m, uhh, picking up a friendly contact. Not sure _how_ exactly, it’s beyond my range in all this jamming.”

“Denmother, not sure what that means,” Brown’s voice was sickeningly professional.

“It means you need to get ready to assist me,” the calm monotone voice of Defect came through, surprisingly clear considering the distance, “Brown I need you to cover Zwicky as we focus on the remaining bandits,” three F/D-14s attempt to entrap her F-15 and a EA-18G with the forest camouflage of the independence force.

“Copy.”

As they closed in, Reina finally witnessed her leader’s prowess. Defect was dancing around the three federation pilots with ease while giving more orders, “Rook and Vagrant, as we keep them busy, cover the ground retreat.”

“You heard her Seraph, get going,” the directions from the AWACS didn’t take Reina out of her trance,gaze transfixed on Captain Mui’s performance. The plane gracefully outmaneuvering its pursuers had captured Reina’s complete attention. She had never seen an ace in action, outside of unremarkable instructors from the Academy. It was captivating.

A new voice came across the radio, “Holy shit, we may actually live through this.” 

“Thanks for the assist Seraph Squadron, I’m Zwicky and that was my EWO, Mud. We owe you one,” the relieved voices of the men in the Growler made the gravity of the situation clear and brought Reina back to the present.

“Seraph 2, focus their P-28s and their small presence should retreat. We are here to buy our friendlies space to retreat, not rout the Federation,” as Denmother was speaking, the targets lit up on Reina’s HUD. Helicopters picking apart LAVs and unarmred transports. 

Reina grumbles out a resigned, “Wilco.” She knew not every sortie could be dogfighting the pilots of the Federation for control of the skies, but part of her yearned for the intensity and satisfaction of fighting for the skies of her homeland. 

The pair of SK27s made their way towards the eight helicopters that were cutting up the CIF forces retreating over the snow blanketed plains as the familiar Magadan accented voice chimed in, “Heads up Seraph, there are wounded and noncombatants among the transports. Move quickly as you’re the only protection they’ve got.”

Reina’s hand squeezed tight on the stick of her fighter, “can’t say I’m surprised. The Federation is full of bastards.”

“More the reason to get this done, Fox 2,” Rook accelerated as a missile was sent towards the nearest attacker. The helicopter made a futile attempt to evade before being engulfed in an explosion, “one down.”

Following her example, Vagrant let her MLAA fly once she had a solid tone, “multi-locks out.” What felt like eternity ended and the ordinance all hit their marks, “two more down,” she let out a breath then murmured, “return to the Dust Mother.”

“How the hell did the rebels call for even more air support? I thought we completely isolated them!” 

“If our fighters don’t get air superiority soon, we’ll get eaten alive,” two exasperated helicopter pilots remarked as the pair passed over their allies and made for another pass.

“Seems the Federation did not expect anyone to cut through their jamming. Спасибо, Mud. You gave us an opportunity to surprise them. Make use of it, Seraph,” remarked Denmother.

“You can give me all the praise you want when we’re back on the grou-Incoming!” A missile screams past the Growler’s cockpit, “Dust Mother, it’s a miracle we’re still in the air.” 

“Seraph’s speciality is miracles,” Vagrant chuckled, “We have got to make that stick guys.”

Vagrant smirked at the groans that followed, “Everyone, focus,” but Defect’s command centered her attention back to her mission — back to another pass.

The first of the two flankers fired missiles and flew by as the helicopters were not difficult prey. Vagrant’s flew in close, riddling them with bullets as the plane deftly made its way through their formation. Even though only two more were downed, the movements seemed to scare off the few remaining P-28s.

“Молодец. Seraph 3 and 4, those retreating are safe now. Regroup with Defect and help drive the fighters off.”

“These pilots will break away soon, the Federation won’t waste more resources than they have to,” Defect added.

“Shit, the other two rebels are closing in, we need to regroup!” 

“Damn Dusties won’t get away with this,” Vagrant had waited years to hear the panicked voices of Federation pilots, but didn’t expect it to feel quite like this. She gave herself to the feeling and closed the gap, hoping to get a lock.

“Vagrant!” Defect’s voice cut through to her, “break off _now_.”

Reina released the throttle and blinked, “They will be back for more, but they are exposed currently. We will be escorting them back to Lanareo. Understood?”

As the other pilots gave their affirmatives to Captain Mui, Reina couldn’t break her gaze from the retreating Federation fighters as she slowly brought her Flanker around. She kept repeating what Mui had said, about getting her chance. Reina wondered what would happen when that chance finally came.

“Hey Vagrant, your radio on?” Denmother asked.

The pilot shook her head, “Yeah. Escort and RTB, copy.”

The silence on the radio was slowly replaced with status updates. Seraph had driven the assailants off but the Federation could easily have reinforcements inbound. They did not have the luxury to relax. Everyone was on edge. Denmother tried to raise spirits but nobody was taking her up on her offers of stories and camaraderie. The mostly silent retreat left Reina to ruminate on her first taste of combat.


End file.
